Trinity pounces on Panthers

Trinity defeated Proviso West 60-46 to win the River Forest Regional last week and move on to the Lyons Sectional in the Class AA State tournament.

"The girls played great. We got big performances," said Trinity head coach Don Sansone. "We got contributions from everybody. The girls are really picking it up and doing the right stuff to get the job done. That's what you got to do this time of the season."

The Blazers (20-10) met Riverside-Brookfield (27-3) last night (after press time) in the first round of the sectional. A win there will have them most likely facing cross-town rival Fenwick in the sectional championship.

The Blazers got off to a sluggish start against the Panthers, falling behind 10-3 in the early going. Senior Alison Sansone got the offense kick-started by scoring 11 of her game high 13 points in the first half.

"I wanted to come out strong," said Alison. "Proviso is a good team. We needed to pick it up. We weren't clicking at first. I thought, 'I got to step it up for my team.' And then everyone just started to come together."

Tonesha Members made a big splash off the bench for Trinity.

"That's my job to spark the team coming off the bench," said the sophomore guard, whose play helped tie the game at 14. Sansone then hit a 3-pointer to put the Blazers ahead for good.

Trinity led by seven after the first quarter and built the lead to 11 by halftime, 35-24.

But the Blazers did not coast to victory as Proviso was able to cut the lead to five at the start of the fourth. However, with every time the Panthers tried to stage a rally, the Blazers answered right back with a flurry of baskets.

Late in the fourth, a 3-point play by Kelly O'Brien dashed any hopes for a Panther comeback and sealed the victory for the Blazers.

"It felt good when I went up to the free-throw line knowing the team was behind me," said O'Brien on sinking the free throw that put them ahead by 11.

Although she spent time on the bench with foul trouble, Lykendra Johnson finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Katie Jarger was quiet offensively, but had 11 rebounds. Amanda Macchione filled in for Johnson, nabbing nine rebounds and getting two blocks. Marche Smith had seven points to go with her seven rebounds.

"I'm happy that we won. We're one more step closer to Downstate. That's our goal," smiled Smith after the game.